Payment Gateway Solution For a Two-Sided Service Marketplace (Advice Needed)

Hey guys!

So me and my partner are currently tinkering on an idea based on a very specific niche in the service industry, and looking to build a two-sided marketplace to cater to it.

While the tech aspect is being handled just well, we are a little lost in terms of finding the right solution for managing the payments and compliance on this platform.

Essentially, we want to be offering the option of PayPal, Credit/Debit Cards, Crypto for buyers to pay for the gig; and on sellers side, the option to withdraw through PayPal, Bank Wire and Crypto. This is the bare minimum.

I believe there are a good amount of options as far as crypto payments are concerned. But for fiat, I've been digging a lot, and have found through my research that most payment gateways treat digital products/services as high-risk categories, and therefore don't want any part of it. And some who do support this category do not work with marketplaces.

There's only one I've found so far, who seems to be accepting marketplaces in this domain, but they require us to be registered in US/EU/UK with a local director over there.

I don't mind considering setting up abroad, but we are only just starting with this platform, and I don't even know yet if it would be able to take off. So setting up a company abroad will come with a bunch of challenges of it's own in terms of compliance with the local law, of course.

What are our options here?

 

Considering your niche, exploring platforms like Stripe that support marketplaces might be worthwhile, as they offer payment processing with fewer restrictions. If going international feels too daunting right now, you might also look into payment service providers that cater specifically to startups in niche markets, they often have more flexible options to accommodate your current structure and growth potential without overwhelming requirements.

 

From what I've read, Stripe is the last platform to go to for digital products/services niche. They are particularly hard on such websites. Besides, Stripe does not seem to be accepting merchants from India.

What are the other payment providers for niche markets? Can you suggest?

 

Stripe can indeed be quite strict with digital products, especially in certain regions. Consider platforms like PayPal, which is widely accepted, or Razorpay, which is popular in India and supports various payment methods. You could also explore platforms like Square or Payoneer, which cater to niche markets and might be a better fit for your needs.